The present invention is directed to a method and a device for automatically transmitting data from the pre-press stage to a printing substrate processing machine having at least one print unit and one print form for printing on a printing substrate, as well as to a method and a device for automatically transmitting data from a first printing substrate processing machine having at least one print unit and one print form for printing on a printing substrate, to a further printing substrate processing machine, in particular a folding machine.
The term pre-press stage generally denotes all required work steps, ranging from preparation of the text, the original images and graphics, and the layout, to production of a press-ready print form. The print form created in the process is then used for producing the print run in the printing press. In multi-color printing, the individual color separations are also prepared in the pre-press stage. Each of these require producing a separate print form which, after being printed one after another on a substrate, together, ultimately produce the color print. In this context, it is important that the individual color separations be imprinted true-to-register on the substrate, since, otherwise, the print quality suffers. It is also necessary that the correct chromatic values for the individual color separations be communicated from the pre-press stage to the printing press, to ensure that the print result in the main press stage corresponds to the original underlying the pre-press stage. Other data, which need to be transmitted from the pre-press stage to the main press stage, also include, for example, the print volume, i.e., the number of prints to be produced. These data must be communicated in some way from the pre-press stage to the main press stage.
One known way to effect this provides for print job dockets in which the necessary data are recorded in paper form. The job sheets in the print job dockets contain the data generated in the pre-press stage in printed form. They are packed in print dockets, transported to the main press stage and, finally, to the particular printing press for further processing of the finished prints.
One modern system provides for the transmission of data from the pre-press stage to the main press stage using memory cards on which data of the pre-press stage are stored. The memory card described in the pre-press stage is taken from the read and write unit of the pre-press stage and transported to the read unit of the main press stage, where it is used. There, the memory card is read out, and the data for a print job are input into the main press stage.
In the meantime, methods are now being used in print shops having largely digitized work flow, where the pre-press stage and the main press stage are interconnected via a digital data transmission link. In this context, various computers of the pre-press stage are networked with one another and communicate, for example, over Ethernet or other LAN/WAN networks with a computer of the main press stage. Due to its high costs, this type of networking only proves to be practical in large print shops where, in the majority of cases, both the pre-press stages, as well as the main press stage are combined under one roof. In smaller print shops, the pre-press stage is often located outside of the print shop, so that finished print forms are delivered to the print shop for the printing operation.